SACRAMENTO -- The California Air Resources Board (ARB) today received good news in a status report on California gasoline
supplies. The report prepared by the Board's staff states that MTBE, the fuel additive banned because of itsÏeffect
on groundwater, was removed from all gasoline refined for sale in California in November 2003.

ARB Chairman, Dr. Alan Lloyd, said, "We are pleased with the work California refiners have done to remove
MTBE and even more pleased that they have completed this effort without the supply disruptions and price
spikes that some predicted. California's fuel programs have led to amazing cuts in motor vehicle emissions,
which directly lead to improved public health," he added.

The staff report shows that all major refineries have completed their conversions from the use of MTBE in California
gasoline to new blends that either replace MTBE with ethanol, or in some parts of the state is sold without
oxygenates. The report also notes that more than 40 percent of the ethanol produced in the United States is expected
to be used in California, Connecticut or New York, three states that have banned MTBE.

MTBE, an oxygenate that helps vehicles burn fuel more completely, was first added in large volumes to California
gasoline in 1990 to help cut carbon monoxide emissions. However, most vehicles built for California since
1994 are equipped with on-board emission control systems that regulate the engine's air/fuel ratio making it unnecessary
to add oxygenates, such as MTBE to California gasoline.

The ARB report also comments on California's four year old effort to obtain a waiver from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to allow all Californians to buy fuel that does not contain oxygenates. To date, the
ARB has not received a final determination from U.S. EPA.

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California Environmental
Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources
through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy.
The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality
standards.The energy challenge facing California is real. Every Californian needs
to take immediate action to reduce energy consumption. For a list of simple ways you can reduce demand and
cut your energy cost, see our website at http://www.arb.ca.gov.